Thought for the Week

by Fr. Philip Gray

St Margaret's Church

IT is common now to hear disparaging comments about politicians and political manifestos. Journalists appear not to have to ask too many people on our streets before they garner a cynical comment about those standing for election or the pledges they make. Such cynicism was rarely found in previous generations. Some of it, of course, is deserved when re-calling the excesses and deceptions of the expenses scandal; or examples of broken political promises. However, there are significant dangers in allowing ourselves to be overcome by such cynicism.

It is manifestly false to say that “all politicians are the same”, or “they are all in it for themselves”. Amongst those who engage in political life there are sometimes “bad apples”, and there are those whose motives we might regard as ambivalent, but there are also many who seek to work hard for the common good and try earnestly to improve the lives of their constituents. My experience has been that these distinctions cross party boundaries. One political grouping is rarely all good or all bad.

Those who offer themselves for election are members of our communities, like you and me. They have chosen and been chosen to offer themselves. If we do not like the politicians who represent us then we have the option of standing against them or influencing their actions and the way they vote. This is an essential part of being a member of a representative democracy and, according to the choices each one of us makes, it can be argued that we get the politicians that we deserve.

It is less than 100 years since universal suffrage was introduced in this country at significant personal cost. A generation is now passing who made enormous sacrifices to defeat fascism in order that we might live in freedom. Our democracy is a precious gift. Certainly exercise it with wisdom but above all else it is important to remind ourselves that it can be very dangerous to take it for granted.